NEW DELHI: Before Yash Vir Singh walked up for his sixth and final throw in the men’s javelin final at Scotstoun Stadium, two voices stayed with him.One came from Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra.“You’re throwing well. Just keep it straight and believe in yourself. It’s your last throw, just make sure you don’t foul. You can do it.” The other came from his father and coach, Rai Singh.“It’s the last throw. Put everything into it.”Seconds later, the javelin landed at 85.41 metres.Yash Vir leapt from seventh place to the bronze medal position, registering a personal best by almost three metres. The effort not only earned him a place on the podium alongside Neeraj Chopra, who took silver behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga, but also made him only the third Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in men’s javelin. For the first time in the history of the event, two Indians shared the Commonwealth Games podium.The medal came in one of the strongest men’s javelin fields assembled at a Commonwealth Games.The Glasgow final featured one of the strongest javelin fields assembled at a Commonwealth Games. Besides Neeraj and Yash Vir, India also had Rohit Yadav in the final. Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Arshad Nadeem was back to defend his title.Former world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott and former Commonwealth champion Julius Yego were all in the fray. Rumesh Tharanga, meanwhile, arrived in Glasgow after a series of impressive performances and eventually walked away with gold.For much of the evening, Yash Vir remained in the background.Having squeezed into the final in 10th place during qualification, few would have backed the Indian Railways ticket collector to leave Glasgow with a medal. His best throw heading into the final round measured 81.33m, leaving him seventh in the standings with one attempt remaining.Then came his final attempt.“I’d made up my mind – today it was do or die. I shouted it out and then went for the throw. It wasn’t easy. I’d already committed two fouls and even my fifth throw was only 76.95 metres. My only thought was to produce my personal best. I had nothing to lose. But there was a hunger built up over the last four years. I’ll always remember that 85.41m throw. I’m immensely grateful to God,” Yash Vir told TimesofIndia.com.The conditions hardly made life easier. Several leading throwers struggled to find consistency as gusty conditions made it difficult to judge the release. Yash Vir adjusted quickly.“I quickly calculated the wind conditions. Then I increased my speed a bit and made a slight change to my technique according to the wind pressure. The plan was simple – release the javelin with full power. That’s it. The plan worked. I’m happy that I finally crossed the 85-metre mark. My previous best was over 83 metres at the Inter State Championships.”
Before Glasgow glory came years of struggle
The bronze medal was the culmination of four years spent fighting through injury, surgery and rehabilitation, all while holding on to a promise he had made to himself.“Main wapsi karke dikhaunga.[I’ll make a comeback].”The promise was made in 2022.During a training session, Yash Vir injured his shoulder. The damage was serious. One of the muscles in his rotator cuff – the supraspinatus – had been affected, leaving him in constant pain and eventually requiring surgery at the Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance (ABTP) Centre in Jaipur.The operation was successful, but it came with another challenge. Doctors ruled him out of competition for at least seven months. For an athlete whose life revolved around throwing the javelin, the rehabilitation was as much a mental battle as a physical one.“It was an extremely difficult time. All I wanted was to return to the field,” Yash Vir said.“The surgery went well and my treatment was completed successfully. Dr Harshvardhan Singh and Dr Aditi Thakur are like God to me. They gave me the confidence that I would be able to throw the javelin again the way I always had. Today, I am here because of them. I owe them a lot.”Unable to train, he spent months confined to bed. There was little he could do physically, so he tried to stay connected with the sport in every way possible. He watched videos of his old competitions, relived some of his best throws and immersed himself in motivational books, refusing to let the dream of competing again fade away.
Yash Vir Singh (Special Arrangements)
When he eventually returned in 2023, the signs were encouraging. His comeback competition ended with a silver medal. Strong performances followed over the next two seasons, eventually earning him a place in India’s squad for the Commonwealth Games.Yet, despite steady progress, Yash Vir travelled to Glasgow with little fanfare.The spotlight naturally remained on Chopra, India’s Olympic and world champion, while Rohit Yadav completed the three-member Indian contingent. Yash Vir entered the competition as an outsider, having qualified for the final in 10th place.
The father who never gave up on Yash Vir
Throughout the journey, one person remained at the centre of it all – his father, Rai Singh.“Now, I don’t want to look back. A Commonwealth Games medal means a lot to me. You can say this is just the beginning,” he said.Behind that journey has been one constant figure. His father. Rai Singh is much more than Yash Vir’s coach.A former national-level javelin thrower himself, Rai won multiple national medals and Railway championship titles before becoming an athletics coach with the Indian Railways. An NIS Diploma holder, he has guided his son’s career from the very beginning, overseeing not just his technique but every aspect of his routine.
Yash Vir Singh with his father (Special Arrangements)
Long before international medals entered the conversation, father and son spent countless hours training at the Railway Ground near Jaipur railway station.The first javelin wasn’t even made of metal. It was bamboo.“My father is very strict. He believes in discipline. He takes care of my training, schedule, diet and every single aspect of my life. I may be his son, but he is even stricter with me than anyone else,” Yash Vir said.“Whatever I am today is because of him. Foreign coaches come and go after a while, but it is my father who has taught me everything from the very beginning.”Even now, the technical discussions happen at home.“I don’t know much about biomechanics. My father understands it really well. Whatever plan he gives me, whether it’s about intensity, power, run-up or the release angle, everything comes from him.”At Scotstoun Stadium, Rai Singh watched from above the runway, shouting instructions after every attempt. He had never received the opportunity to compete on one of athletics’ biggest stages himself.On Saturday evening in Glasgow, he watched his son stand on the Commonwealth Games podium with a bronze medal around his neck. For Yash Vir, the medal represented a personal best, a national milestone and the fulfilment of a promise he had made to himself four years ago.
